Decorate the classroom with a theme. Hang large paper trees on the walls and attach leaves to the ceiling to create a jungle, or place beach towels on the floor and tape paper beach umbrellas to the wall. Children will feel like they're walking into a magical environment.
Dress yourself up with a funny costume. Wear a tiara and carry a magic wand, or wear an old Halloween costume. Children will always remember the silly way you were dressed the first day and they'll laugh when they see your outfit. Avoid any items that could scare children or obscure your face, such as a clown costume.
Introduce students to one another by pairing them up. Meeting 20 other children at once will be overwhelming, but meeting one other child at a time will help preschoolers remember their new friends. Pair children up and give them an art project to do together. Ask pairs to sit together at circle time and meal time. By the end of the day, each child should have one good friend.
Make a time capsule with students. Ask children to draw pictures of themselves and ask them to come up predictions about what they think they're going to learn in preschool. Write down these predictions. Take a photo of the class and put all these materials into a box. Put the box on a high shelf until the end of the year.
Take photos of each child as she comes into the classroom, along with candid photos of children playing throughout the day. Hang these pictures throughout the classroom and children will always remember what they did on the first day of school.
Pass out gifts at the end of the day. Give each child a small bag filled with items that will get her excited for the coming year. Include a pencil, since she'll be learning to write letters, crayons like the ones she'll use to make art projects and some silly stickers or small plastic toys that show her preschool is going to be fun.